Bicycle and/or bus trips into the towns surrounding Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. Visit the towns of the Mayas, past and present.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Rio Lagartos, Yucatan

Rio Lagartos isa picturesque coastal fishing village on
Yucatan’s Gulf Coast 95 kilometers north of Valladolid, 46 km from Tizimín, and
230 km from Mérida, Yucatan. The name,
Rio Lagartos, implies river of alligators, but there are no rivers in Yucatan.
This is a bay or ciénaga protected by
a barrier island. There are, however, lots of alligators and crocodiles.

In Rio Lagartos the scenic bay front boulevard takes you
east to a large fresh water spring known as an ojo de aqua, and a rustic picnic park.

Most travelers come here for the guided boat tours that include;
lagoon excursions, bird watching, seasonal migrating birds, sea turtle
observations, Mayan curative mud baths and fishing expeditions. Most guides speak
English. Ask at Hotel Villa de
Pescadores about guided tours…if you arrive by bus more than likely a guide will
approach you at the terminal.

There is frequent taxi and bus service from Rio Lagartos
to Tizimín with connections to Mérida,Valladolid, Cancun, and Tulum.
There is also bus service to the nearby fishing
village of San Felipe and to Los Coloradas, a sea salt production town established
countless centuries ago in ancient Mayan times.

To avoid crowds and competition for facilities, off season
is best and also happens to coincide with the finest weather. September to
mid-December is your time. Holidays, Easter and Christmas, plus July and August
should be avoided unless you want very high prices and limited availability

A shallow ciénega
or bay extends from east to west along Rio Lagartos waterfront and continues around
the entire peninsula.The faro or lighthouse is a prominent
landmark situated on the northernmost point of the waterfront boulevard (Malecón)
that extends along the entire length of the village.

Rio Lagartos is situated on the northernmost point of the Yucatan peninsula and
their light house, with its distinctive group “three” flashing, is in the most
northerly part of town.

A navigable marked channel
traverses the shallow bay out to the Gulf of Mexico
inlet.

Here is an example of Rio Lagartos most appealing
accommodations at Hotel Villa de Pescadores.. From the bed you have a panoramic view of the entire bay,
lighthouse, inlet, and fresh natural air flow that is worth more than the trip
all by itself. An all day procession of aquatic birds silently gliding past on the
gentle sea breezes adds a priceless touch of nature to this special place.A
spacious private balcony, hammock ready and peaceful tranquility is hard to
find in this day and time.The
management, Felipe Gonzales and his lovely wife Elena, treat you like long lost
friends, not just paying clients.

Hotel Villa de Pescadores
is as waterfront as you can get and surrounded by expansive wildlife reserves along
the Gulf of Mexico.

The fall season has the local fishing fleet outfitted for pulpo or octopus fishing. Most of this costly
delicacy is made into ceviche that is
pickled in lime juice. In the way of seafood fine dining pulpo ceviche is perhaps among the worlds finest…but it must be
handled properly and served fresh from the fisherman. We anxiously await the
fall season.

A special treat for us while visiting the sea shore is to
prepare our own ceviche.

We carry a small cutting board and a sharp knife, spoons and
forks…all that is needed. At the local market we buy limes, an onion, tomato
and chili pepper – serrano, jalapeño or habanero. In the afternoon we purchase
a fish fresh from the fishermen, fillet cut it in very thin slices, place it in
a plastic bag or bowl along with chopped tomato, diced onion, and chili pepper
(cilantro is a good addition to ceviche
but hard to sanitize on the road).Liberally squeeze lime juice over this
mixture. It is ready when the fish flesh turns white and is delicious. Eat on
soda crackers or with tortilla chips.

This delicious meal is convenient, requires no cooking and can
be prepared with limited equipment.

This recipe works equally well with almost all seafood…just make
sure it is fresh!

Sunrises and sunsets on the northern coast of Yucatan are
distinctively enhanced by occurring over the Gulf of Mexico waters.

White pelicans find their way to Rio Lagartos every year. These
white pelicans are silent giants equal in size to the great California condor.
They are graceful and powerful flyers with a nine foot wing span and among the
world’s largest aquatic birds. They migrate each fall from as far north as the Hudson Bay of northern Canada all the way here to Yucatan. Unlike their
brown pelican relatives, these huge birds do not dive for their fish, but wade
in shallow waters using their large bill as a fishing scoop.

Northern Yucatan’s tidal
estuaries are home to thousands of pink flamingos that fish the shallow salt
flats for shrimp and other mariscos.
Their distinctive pink color is a result of a diet rich in these salt flat
marine creatures that impart the pink pigment directly to the birds. They
appear larger than they are because of gangly legs and an extremely long neck.
Adults have a 60 inch wing span and are 46 inches long.

Seldom seen alone, flamingos fish together and fly in flocks
long distances along the coast, often offshore, especially early morning and at
dusk. They are not noisy but do occasionally honk similar to geese.

The coast of Yucatan
has bird watching at its finest. Sea birds, shore birds, salt flat birds, fresh
water birds, and jungle birds abound here. Be sure to bring your camera and
take lots of photos…it is a great sport.

This coastal region of northern Yucatan is home to two
expansive wildlife reserves, Reserva
Ecológica Bocas de Dzilám – Ecological Reserve (mouth of rivers of Dzilám),
and Reserva de la Biosfera Ria Lagartos
– Biosphere Reserve of alligator lagoons.

Being sparsely populated and with good quiet roads and
several interesting places to visit it makes for very nice bicycle adventures.
You can do it by car, bus or taxi, but cycling is by far the most rewarding
especially with the wind on your back. Remember that this is the land of take
it easy and afternoons in Yucatan
were designed especially for hammocks and siestas.

On the infrequently
traveled road from Rio Lagartos to Las Coloradas between kilometer 8 and 9
there is a culvert and nearby a small, difficult to see sign denoting 50 meters
to the entrance. If you are looking for the perfect unspoiled jungle getaway
with no tour buses or trinket shops this is for you.

In spite of the modern road you see here that links Rio
Lagartos to San Felipe the traffic is nearly nonexistent. It makes a
particularly nice bicycle ride especially in early mornings with the sun and
wind at your back. Read more; San Felipe

Two hour express bus service to Mérida and less
then half an hour to Valladolid make the out of the tourist loop town of
Tizimín an ideal staging place for several seldom visited delightful side
trips.

Nearly all the above side trips can be made by
bus/bike and/or car. Read more: Tizimín